CAREER TOOLBOX

Linking Learning and Living

By Al Flieder, Grant Wood AEA

                                                
One of the best connectors between learning skills and living them is Service-Learning (S-L).  Developed nationally over the past decade, S-L is “a potent form of instruction that engages students in meaningful service activities in their schools and communities as part of their learning curriculum.”* 

What's It All About?
Service-Learning supports school-based activities that get youth involved in their communities in a variety of meaningful ways. Young people become involved in service as a means of not only helping others, but also of enriching their academic learning experience, fostering personal growth, and developing the skills needed to become productive citizens.

Service-Learning goes beyond helping those in need. It emphasizes the educational value of experience-based learning and thoughtful reflection on the service activity. Service-Learning allows students to apply personal experience to academic knowledge. Examples of S-L activities going on across the state can be found at http://www.state.ia.us/educate/ecese/cfcs/sl/grants.html

How Does It Affect The School?
Through Service-Learning, the doors of communication open between students, teachers, and administrators. They all work together to set goals, designate responsibilities and create a strategic plan. Within the realm of Service-Learning, students create programs that interest them and help others. Teachers then act as facilitators of the ideas generated by the students. Administrators continue the communication process by interacting with the students on a one-to-one basis.

This communication and interaction creates an environment within the school that is caring, positive and beneficial to everyone involved. Stronger, more understanding relationships are formed between students and teachers. Administrator and community leaders see youngsters doing things that benefit society. Learning is enhanced for students through hands-on, minds-on experiences: every school can help every student become a “service asset.”*

How Does It Affect The Community?
By being involved with Service-Learning, students become active participants within their communities. Their efforts address and meet local needs in the areas of education, public safety, human service, the environment, etc.

Service-Learning brings community leaders and schools closer together and contributes to a higher quality of life for everyone. By working as a team, our youth, our schools, and our communities benefit.

What Service-Learning does:

• Identifies and researches local needs or issues
• Combines academic curriculum with service
• Invites collaboration with school and community-based organizations
• Motivates students to make a difference in their communities
• Encourages students to think about and address real-life situations
• Develops responsible citizens
• Fosters a sense of caring for others

Annual Funding Opportunity Available:

"ComServ Iowa" is a grant program designed to provide federal funds for local school districts interested in developing or expanding community service-learning opportunities for teachers, administrators and students. Each November for the past nine years, federal funds have provided incentive for local schools to submit building level or district level proposals to the Iowa Department of Education. Funds available under ComServ Iowa are used to connect the academic curriculum with community service-learning and provide a meaningful context for learning; to develop pilot projects throughout the state that can be replicated at other sites; to build a statewide network of service-learning programs, activities, information and opportunities for youth service; and to increase the quality and availability of opportunities for youth to serve others.

Technical assistance in support of Service Learning Technical assistance in support of Service Learning projects and ComServ Iowa applications will be provided, to the extent feasible, by contacting Al Flieder, Grant Wood AEA, phone 399-6516 or (800) 798-9771 x6516. Please also check our World Wide Web page for www.aea10.k12.ia.us/curr/stw/index.html  (click on the last bullet of the third column, “service learning connection.” Watch this site for notices of future activities of interest on this subject. 

Other websites that provide vast amounts of information are as follows:

www.servicelearning.org

www.learnandserve.org

http://www.learningindeed.org/research/slresearch/slrsrchsy.html

 *Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL), University of Illinois at Chicago, Dept of Psychology.

Return to Career Toolbox Home Page